THE hardest problem for the authors of Spains democratic constitution was to strike a balance between the central government and the claims of Catalonia, the Basque country and Galicia for home rule. The formula they came up with was known as café para todos, or coffee for all: Spain was divided into 17 autonomous communities (plus the enclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast), each with its own elected parliament and government. This estado de las autonomías seemed a neat solution. Over the past 30 years more and more powers and money have been devolved. The regional governments are now responsible for schools, universities, health, social services, culture, urban and rural development and, in some places, policing. But it is becoming clear that even as it has solved some problems, decentralisation has created others.

Guess which two autonomous regions voted overwhelming for the Socialist Zapatero in the last National Elections, beyond the heavily subsidized Andalucia...

The Regional Nationalism conflict in Spain is often portrayed as a continuation of the emancipation process of the Spanish colonies, as if Catalonia and the Basque region were territories "oppresed", struggling to survive. However, the facts are simply the contrary. Spain is composed by 15 colonies and two metropolis that enjoy a far better standard of life, and which defend that inequality, inherited from Franco's days, through external propaganda and internal violence, when necessary.

It would have been easier for all concerned if Spain had adopted federalism in 1978. That would have set clear rules and aligned responsibilities for taxing and spending. The Senate could have become a place where the regions were formally represented and could settle their differences, akin to Germanys Bundesrat.

In the end this may be what must happen.

In the meantime Spain must muddle on.

Muddling through is good. Its how most intractable problems get solved. It may take a few generations, but in the life of a country, there is no hurry.

Well, it is a fact that General Franco appointed the king as his succesor, and it is also a fact that he was, therefore, endowed with full powers when this asymmetrical (2 metropolis, 15 colonies) Constitution was written down.

Furthermore, I must let you know that in Spain there are strict laws against slandering the crown.

That might happen in an Anglosaxon country, but it is unlikely in Spain.

The Basque and Catalonian Nationalists, that is, the political branches of the Basque and Catalonian oligarchies, do not want anything alike. They live from permanent conflict, they get their best economic deals from the National government in Madrid when they can carry out which is plainly blackmail.

Moreover, such political intolerance and radicalism has conceded the Socialist party a lot of votes: 25 seats from Catalonia out of 172, in a chamber of 350. In the end, there is no reason to reach an agreement among all regions.

This situation gets more complicated with the fact that the French establishment (and the ruling classes of Britain and Italy) wants conflict in Spain in order to keep us away of holding strong stances in the EU (or the world), as Aznar did. This article has been published in The Economist just when some economic interests of the Socialist from Madrid have been hurt by the now ruling Socialists from Catalonia: it is a dispute in the same family.

Add to this that if the truth about 3/11 is made public, the present political system in Spain would collapse...

As I see it, I hope and I pray for your outcome, but I find it hard to happen.

It is interesting to see how the “¿Por qué no te callas?” issue happened just five months before the National Elections and in a moment when there was an important mass media campaign in Spain in order to “erase” the talks with ETA from the public mind and show Zapatero, who was sitting next to him when those words were said, as a patriotic guy (which he simply is not).

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